Sunday, February 22, 2009

Busy Weekend

Maybe it's just repetitive muscle strain (and not from massage!), but carding has totally given me tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. It started a few weeks ago when I decided to tackle the garage - lifting heavy boxes here and there - so I could get started with creating my own little fiber studio in there. I figured that my back was pretty strong, but that night I realized that though I may have a strong back, I guess my arms aren't as strong as I thought. My right elbow started to hurt, and it got worse when I carded on higher than normal stand the next day.

It's also curtailed some of my knitting, though not my spinning (whew!). As long as I keep applying acupressure on the painful spots and loosen it up with massage, it seems to be getting better. That, and making sure I card on a table height that's just right for me.

This weekend, I decided to tackle carding some art batts on my carder - bent teeth or not. I hated seeing that carder sitting so sheltered inside its plastic bin and wondered if I would have to sell it. But HollyEQQ changed all that. Ever since our brief twitter exhange, I've been carding like crazy. And spinning those batts I've carded, too.

Weekend Spinning

Today I carded some of the Kool-Aid dyed locks that Nancy (the other Nancy) gave me last year. It was a full box of fiber that she needed to get rid of - and I carded these batts with it. I finally figured out how to adjust the drums on my Strauch Petite and now I can pack over an ounce of fiber on it! I'm one happy spinner, that's for sure!

Peeps on Parade

Peeps on Parade (over 4 ounces!)


Last week I finally got started with my PVC loom and though it's not done yet - I'm still missing the reed and the rests for the reed, I warped it just to see if the tension "knobs" work. So far, it does, but until I get the reeds, it's still "in progress". I've been thinking of getting the reed for the Ashford Kniter's Loom because I hear it accommodates spinners' yarns - and that's me :)

So far, I think I've spent about $20 for the all the pvc (I used some of the pvc for a floor swift) and the two dowels, and maybe another $30 for reed. I don't know if it would have been better for me to buy a loom, but since I already had one to begin with and couldn't figure it out (I traded it for my Petite drum carder), it's amazing how a little bit of DIY helped me figure out the ins and outs of rigid heddle weaving - so far.

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